Community based network shopping

ABSTRACT

A system receives item data corresponding to an item list from a user. The item list may include one or more items. The system communicates the item list to a community group associated with the user and the system then receives member data from one or more members of the community group, wherein the member data is associated with the one or more items on the item list.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to a method and system for community basednetwork shopping, according to one embodiment, by creating and sharing ashopping item list among a defined community.

BACKGROUND

Currently, online or network shopping is limited in scope andfunctionality. In first case, a user can shop or navigate an e-commercewebsite and add items to a personal electronic shopping cart. In somecases, a user may be able to read a review associated with the productprior to adding it to the user's electronic shopping cart. When finishedshopping, the user may inspect the contents of the electronic shoppingcart, select shipping options, and pay for the items. In a second case,a user may register with a website and create a personal item list foritems that friends and family may use to purchase those items from thatwebsite. For example, a couple may register for their wedding gifts onthe website and invited guests may go to the website and select andpurchase items from the couple's list. In a third case, a user can finda product on a website, bookmark it and attach tags to it. Then the usercan share the tagged bookmarked pages with the user's friends.

However, these lists and their associated functions are very limited. Inthe first case, the user's electronic shopping cart can only containspecific items the website offers and has no exposure to other peoplefor comment, opinions, etc. Similarly, the second case only allows forguests to peruse and buy only those specific items the couple hasselected and is found on the registry website. The third case is alittle more flexible than the second, but still only allows the user'sfriends to navigate to specific websites for specific items chosen bythe user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a network system, according to oneembodiment, having a client-server architecture configured forexchanging data over a network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of multiplenetwork and marketplace applications, which are provided as part of thenetwork-based marketplace;

FIG. 3 is a high-level entity-relationship diagram, in accordance withone example embodiment, illustrating various tables that may bemaintained within one or more databases;

FIG. 4 illustrates a relationship diagram of a community group createdby a user 402, according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 5A through 5E illustrate example embodiments of displaysassociated with creating and maintaining an item list, includingdisplays associated with an item list, a community group,recommendations, reviews, and a electronic shopping cart.

FIGS. 6A through 6D provide an example embodiment of functional modulespertaining to some of the applications associated with FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a methodfor creating an item list that may be shared among a community group;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a methodfor creating an item list that may be shared among a community group;and

FIG. 9 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of machine in theexample form of a computer system 900 within which a set of instructionsmay be executed to cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a network system 100, according toone embodiment, having a client-server architecture configured forexchanging data over a network. For example, the network system 100 maybe a trading/commerce system where clients may communicate and exchangedata with the trading/commerce system, the data may pertain to variousfunctions (e.g., online purchases) and aspects (e.g., managing socialnetworks) associated with the network system 100.

A data exchange platform, in an example form of a network-based provider112, provides server-side functionality, via a network 114 (e.g., theInternet) to one or more clients. The one or more clients may includeusers that may utilize the network system 100 and more specifically, thenetwork-based provider 112, to exchange data over the network 114. Thesetransactions may include receiving and processing data from a multitudeof users. The data may include, but is not limited to, shared item(shopping) lists, shared electronic shopping carts, product and servicereviews, product, service, manufacture, and vendor recommendations,product and service listings, auction bids, feedback, etc. In oneembodiment, the product and service reviews, and the product, service,manufacture, and vendor recommendations are associated with one or moreitem lists generated by a user and maintained on the network-basedprovider 112.

Turning specifically to the network-based marketplace 112, anapplication program interface (API) server 124 and a web server 126 arecoupled to, and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to,one or more application servers 128. The application servers 128 hostone or more networking applications 130 and marketplace applications132. The application servers 128 are, in turn, shown to be coupled toone or more databases servers 134 that facilitate access to one or moredatabases 136.

The marketplace applications 132 may provide a number of marketplacefunctions and services (e.g., listing, payment, etc.) to users thataccess the network-base marketplace 112. The networking applications 130likewise may provide a number of social networking services andfunctions to users. The networking applications 130 may allow a user togenerate an ace this item list, which may include items (e.g., productsand services) and categories associated with items, or a combinationthereof. In one embodiment, the items and categories of items are giftsassociated with a designated entity or event (e.g., pet, friend,housewarming, etc.). The networking applications 130 may allow the userto distribute the item list to one or more groups defined by user (e.g.,“my family,” “my friends,” etc.) or to groups at various levels in apredefined category (e.g., “auto group,” “Ford group,” “Ford MustangGroup,” etc.).

While the networking applications 130 and the marketplace applications132 are shown in FIG. 1 to both form part of the network-basedmarketplace 112, it will be appreciated that, in alternativeembodiments, the networking applications 130 may form part of a socialnetworking service that is separate and distinct from the marketplace112.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a third party application 138, executing on athird party server machine 140, as having programmatic access to thenetwork-based marketplace 112 via the programmatic interface provided bythe API server 124. For example, the third party application 138 may,utilizing information retrieved from the network-based marketplace 112,support one or more features or functions on a website hosted by thethird party. The third party website may, for example, provide one ormore networking, marketplace or payment functions that are supported bythe relevant applications of the network-based marketplace 112.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of multiplenetwork and marketplace applications 130 and 132, respectively, whichare provided as part of the network-based marketplace 112. Themarketplace 112 may provide a number social networking, shopping, andlisting and price-setting mechanisms whereby a seller may list goodsand/or services (e.g., for sale). A group member associated with acommunity group created or selected by a user can express interest in orindicate a desire to purchase items such as goods and/or servicesassociated with the user's item list. Additionally, a group memberassociated with a community group may provide suggested gift ideas basedon the category or other attribute of item (e.g., portable music playeror gift for 13 year old sister) or provide a review of or opinion on aspecific item (e.g., Apple iPod®) found on the item list.

To this end, the network and marketplace applications 130 and 132,respectively, are shown to include one or more applications whichsupport the network-based marketplace 112, and more specifically thegeneration and maintenance of an item list and its associatedrelationships, community groups and its members' rules and roles, andtransactions that may be associated with a shared electronic shoppingcart including the items from the item list. The associatedrelationships may include item list distribution parameters (e.g., rolesand rules pertaining to the item list and associated communitygroup(s)), reviews and recommendations pertaining to the items of theitem list, item attributes like model and manufacturer, or serviceprovider of a particular item, item status (e.g., purchased), etc.Additionally, the various applications may support social networkingfunctions, including building and maintaining the community groupscreated by a user, relating one or more item lists to selected communitygroups, and providing a shared electronic shopping cart for thecommunity groups to purchase items from the shared item list.

Store applications 202 may allow sellers to group their listings (e.g.,goods and/or services) within a “virtual” store, which may be brandedand otherwise personalized by and for the sellers. Such a virtual storemay also offer promotions, incentives and features that are specific andpersonalized to a relevant seller. In one embodiment, the listingsand/or transactions associated with the virtual store and its featuresmay be provided to one or more community groups having an existingrelationship with the item list creator. An existing relationship orassociation may include a friend or family relationship, a transactionalrelationship (e.g., prior sales with user), or an overall networkcommunity relationship (e.g., buyers historical transaction rating).

Reputation applications 204 may allow parties that transact utilizingthe network-based marketplace 112 to establish, build and maintainreputations, which may be made available and published to potentialtrading partners. Consider that where, for example, the network-basedmarketplace 112 supports person-to-person trading, users may have nohistory or other reference information whereby the trustworthinessand/or credibility of potential trading partners may be assessed. Thereputation applications 204 may allow a user, for example throughfeedback provided by other transaction partners, to establish areputation within the network-based marketplace 112 over time. Otherpotential trading partners may then reference such a reputation for thepurposes of assessing credibility, trustworthiness, or the like. A usercreating a shared item list and seeking reviews and recommendationsassociated with the listed items may therefore rely, all or in part, onanother user's established credibility in determining whether or not toadd that person to their community group, which may access the shareditem list, and in some embodiments, make purchases based on the shareditem list.

In one embodiment, the network-based marketplace 112 includes review andrecommendation applications 205. The social networking applications 210may work in conjunction with the review and recommendation applications205 to provide a user interface to facilitate the entry of reviews ofthe items on the list and recommendations for items on the list. Areview may be a text entry of the community group member's opinion, astandard review form including check boxes indicating a levelsatisfaction, a combination of both, etc. Recommendations may include aspecific type of item, a specific brand or service for a type of item, aspecific retailer for the item, etc. In one embodiment, the review andrecommendations applications 205 may push a request for one or moreselected members of a community group associated with the item list tosubmit one or more reviews and/or recommendations of one or more itemsof the item list.

Navigation of the network-based marketplace 112 may be facilitated byone or more navigation applications 206. For example, a searchapplication may, inter alia, enable key word searches of listingspublished via the marketplace 112. A browser application may allow usersvia an associated user interface to browse various category, catalogue,inventory, social network, and review data structures within themarketplace 112. Various other navigation applications (e.g., anexternal search engine) may be provided to supplement the search andbrowsing applications.

In one embodiment, using rules applications 208 and roles applications209, a seller may customize an item list and its attributes byexclusively providing entities within the user defined community grouprules and roles pertaining to one or more items of the item list. Forexample, the item list creator may not want a member of a communitygroup to be able to view, purchase, edit, etc. any or all of the itemson the item list. For example, rules may include an ability to purchasean item on the list, purchase using the creator's account, add to theitem list, etc. Additionally, the item list creator may want to assignroles to an entity within the community group. For example, roles mayinclude a buyer, a reviewer, administrator, etc. Accordingly, the rulesapplications 208 and the roles applications 209 may be used inconjunction with social networking applications 210 to customize theitem list to be shared within one or more community groups. Therelationship or association between the item list creator (user) and themembers of the one or more community groups may be a direct relationshipor an indirect relationship. For example, a direct relationship may be asister, a friend, or a trusted associate user, while the indirectrelationship may be a secondary entity brought in by a directrelationship. For example the sister (direct relationship) shares thelist with her friend, and so on.

A number of fraud prevention applications 212 may implement variousfraud detection and prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence offraud within the marketplace 112. In one embodiment, the fraudprevention applications 212 may monitor activities of each user withinthe community group. For example, the item list creator may want to beinformed if a member of the community group adds items to the list orchanges shipping information, provided the member had the necessarypermissions. In various embodiments, whether to monitor and the level ofmonitoring may depend upon the relationship to the item list creator.For example, an indirect relationship may be more heavily monitored thana direct relationship.

Messaging applications 214 may be used for the generation and deliveryof messages to users of the network-based marketplace 112, such messagesfor example advising the item list creator and members of the communitygroups associated with an item list the status of the various items onthe list (e.g., already purchased, etc.) In one embodiment, themessaging applications 214 may be used in conjunction with the socialnetworking applications 210 to provide promotional and/or marketing tothe community members associated with the item list to assist them infinding and purchasing items on the item list.

Item list application(s) 216 may be used in the network-basedmarketplace 112 by a user to create an item list to be shared within acommunity group created or designated by the user. The item listapplications 216 may be accessed via a user interface that allows theuser to create the item list and may operate in conjunction with thesocial networking applications 210, the rules applications 208 and theroles applications 209, thereby allowing the user to associate the itemlist with the community group. In various embodiments, the item list mayinclude specific products, services or more abstract item requestsassociated with an entity, event, or occasion. For example, the itemlist may include specific items (e.g., brand and model) and specificservices (e.g., XYZ car wash gift certificate), or broader categoriessuch as occasions (e.g., anniversary gift), people (e.g., 12 year olddaughter), etc. This item list association with the community group, inan example embodiment, allows the item list creator the ability tosolicit collaboration (e.g., recommendations, review, etc.) among themembers of the community group (e.g., friends and family) to assist theitem list creator in finding and buying a specific gift from a broadrequest.

In one embodiment, electronic shopping cart application(s) 218 are usedto create a shared electronic shopping cart used by the members of thecommunity group to add and store items from the item list and itsderivatives, such as the associated recommendations for more broadlydefined items. For example, the item may be a music player and therecommendation from a community group member may be an Apple iPod®. Theelectronic shopping cart applications may also be used to “check out,”meaning one or more members may purchase items from the electronicshopping cart. In one embodiment, a bulk purchase of all items is madethrough a single click of a “Bulk Purchase” interactive element (e.g.,See FIG. 5E). The electronic shopping cart applications 218 mayfacilitate the transactions by automatically finding the items in theshared electronic shopping cart across at least one or all of apredefined set of vendors, a comparison shopping site, an auction site,etc. To the user, the multitude of transactions appears as onetransaction based on the selection of“Bulk Purchase.” In variousembodiments, the selection criteria for which vendor or vendors topurchase from may include, but is not limited to, criteria such aslowest cost, fastest shipping time, preferred or highest rated vendorsor sellers, or any combination thereof.

It will be appreciated that one or more the various example networkingand marketplace applications 130, 132 may be combined into a singleapplication. Further, in some embodiments of the inventions one or moreapplications may be omitted and additional applications may also beincluded.

FIG. 3 is a high-level entity-relationship diagram, in accordance withan example embodiment, illustrating various tables 302 that may bemaintained within the databases 136 (see FIG. 1), and that may beutilized by and support the networking and marketplace applications 130and 132, respectively. A user table 304 may contain a record for eachregistered user of the network-based marketplace 112, and may includeidentifier, address and financial instrument information pertaining toeach such registered user. In one embodiment, a user operates as an itemlist creator or a member of a community group, including associatedoperations pertaining to the rules and roles, created by the with listcreator. A user may also operate as a seller, a buyer, or both, withinthe network-based marketplace 112.

The tables 302 may also include an item list table 306 which maintainslisting or item records for goods and/or services that were created byan item list creator using the item list applications 216. In oneembodiment, the item list is created to be shared with a community groupat least defined in part by the item list creator. Each listing or itemrecord within the item list table 306 may furthermore be linked to oneor more electronic shopping cart records within a electronic shoppingcart table 308 and to one or more user records within the user table 304and/or a vendor table 310, so as to associate a seller or vendor and oneor more actual or potential buyers from the community group with eachitem record.

A transaction table 312 may contain a record for each transactionpertaining to items or listings for which records exist within the itemstable 306. For example, a purchase transaction of an item of the itemlist by a member of the community group.

In one example embodiment, a feedback table 314 may be utilized by oneor more of the reputation applications 204 to construct and maintainreputation information associated with users (e.g., members of thecommunity group, sellers, etc.).

Group(s) of users found in a community group table 316 may be selectedby an item list creator to be members of a community group having accessto an item list and electronic shopping cart. In one embodiment, themembers of the community group have a direct relationship with the itemlist creator. In another embodiment, one or more of the members have anindirect relationship or no relationship to the item list creator.

One or more members of a community group may be subject to rules androles assigned by the item list creator and thus linked to a rules androles table 318 via the user table 304. The rules and roles table 318may be used to store the representative records of the functions andoperations that pertain to each rule and role.

A role may be linked to a member of the community group. For example, amember's role may be that of reviewer only. In this case, the reviewercannot purchase an item for the list, make recommendations, etc. Invarious embodiments, a combination of roles may be assigned to a singlemember or an all encompassing administrative role may be assigned.

A rule may be linked to a member of the community group. The item listcreator may create or use one or more rules that limit or extend thevisibility and access of a member to the item list. For example, aparticular item on the item list may be for a member of a communitygroup defined by the item list creator. The item list creator may thencreate a rule to make the item and all its associated data, such asreviews and recommendations, invisible to that member. The rules mayinclude authorization to allow or forbid a member from adding newmembers to the community group, deleting members, or distributing theitem list to others outside the group.

FIG. 4 illustrates a relationship diagram of a community group 400created by a user 402, according to an example embodiment. The communitygroup 400 may include levels of association or relatedness to the user402 (e.g., the item list generator). The community group 400 this thatmay be associated with the item list created by the user 402 may includedirect relationships (first level) and indirect relationships (secondlevel). The direct relationships in this example include a mother 404,an uncle 406, a bowling team 408 and a reputable user 410, screen nameShopper1 (e.g., a trusted user with whom the first user has previouslyconducted one or more transactions within the system). The indirectrelationships may include other users via the one or more directrelationships. The indirect relationships in this example include afather 412 and an aunt 414 that obtained access to the item list via themother 404, and a nephew 416 and a niece 418 that obtained access viathe uncle 406.

The bowling team 408 is an example of a secondary community groupallowed access to the item list by the user 402. As with the communitygroup 400, the user 402 may edit access privileges by assigning rulesand roles to members of the secondary group. For example, as shown inthis diagram, the bowling team 408 (in its entirety) has not beengranted access (or authorization) to allow its members to grant accessto the item list to other entities (e.g., other users or communitygroups).

The reputable user 410 may be a user of the network-based marketplace112 that has a particularly high user rating within the community. Theuser 402 may, for example, only grant the reputable user 410 access orvisibility only to those items regarding which the user 402 would liketo receive the reputable user's 410 recommendation or review. Aspreviously discussed, the rules applications 208 and the rolesapplications 209 may be used in conjunction with other applications toallow and enforce these privileges and restrictions on members of thecommunity with respect to the item list.

FIG. 5A illustrates a user created item list 502, according to oneexample embodiment. The user created list 502 may include sections orfields including item 504, manufacturer 506, model 508,recommendation/review 510, purchased 512, and add to cart 514. In thisexample, item 504 includes item 1—portable music player, item 2—60 inchSony® plasma, item 3—a stereo system, and item 4—gift for 12 year olddaughter. This example illustrates the flexibility of the item listsince an item can be specifically requested or can be broadly requested,in which case the item list creator is soliciting recommendations. Inthe case of a specific request, such as for the stereo system,manufacturer 506 and model 508 may be filled in to further define therequest. In the case of a broad request, such as for a portable musicplayer (item 1), once recommendations have been made by the communitygroup 400 having access to the item list 502, the item list 502 may thenbe updated as shown. In this case, as illustrated, recommendations forthe portable music player have been made and the item list 502 updated.

When a request is so defined, either by the item list creator or viarecommendations, additional functions and indicators may appear. Forexample, under purchased 512, a checkbox is displayed for allspecifically defined items. This is an indication the item has beendefined and has already been purchased by a member of the communitygroup 400. To simplify this example, the empty checkboxes have beenshown to clarify those specifically defined items have not beenpurchased.

Additionally, checkboxes under add to cart 514 may appear forspecifically defined items. For example, as illustrated in the item list502, a member of the community group 400 has selected the checkboxesunder add to cart 514 for items 2 and 3 (60 inch plasma and stereosystem).

Additionally, although not shown in this example embodiment, the itemsadded under items 504 by the item list creator should not be limited toproducts and may be a service, particular event, or occasion. Forexample, the item list creator may be looking to obtain recommendationsand reviews for a health spa as a gift for a spouse or may be lookingfor recommendations and reviews for gifts appropriate as an anniversaryor birthday gift for their spouse.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example embodiment of a community group display530 presenting the roles and rules associated with each member of thecommunity group 400. The community group display 530 includes sectionsor fields pertaining to entity 532, role 534, and rules 536. Forexample, entity 1 is “mother” and she has a role of distributor and hasbeen limited with respect to whom she may distribute the item list 502.In this example, she cannot distribute the list to “father”, possiblybecause all or a portion of the item list 402 includes items beingsought for “father.” Alternatively, a rule could have been created toprevent “father” from seeing the items that pertained to him, if fatherwas originally added to the community group 400 by the item listcreator. In another embodiment, an entity may be given a role of“administrator” (not shown), which may allow the entity to modify theitem list 502, such as adding members to the community group 400,creating rules for members, adding items, etc.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example embodiment of a recommendations display550 presenting recommendations made by members of the community group400. The recommendations display 550 includes sections or fieldspertaining to items 552, recommendation 554, and source 556. The item552 includes those items from the item list 502 that recommendationshave been made (e.g., via “click here”) by a member of the communitygroup 400. For example, for item 1—portable music player,recommendations for an Apple Ipod® and Sony Minidisk® have been made bythe members, “mother” and “shopper1,” respectively. In one embodiment,these recommendations are then displayed in an updated version of itemlist 402 as specific items that may be reviewed or added to theelectronic shopping cart for purchase. A similar example is illustratedwith respect to recommendations for a different category of item in item4—gift for 12 year old daughter. In this case, recommendations aresought for a category of person and not for a particular category ofproduct (e.g., music player).

FIG. 5D illustrates an example embodiment of a review summary display570 presenting a summary of all reviews available that have been made bymembers of the community group 400. The review summary display 570includes sections or fields pertaining to item 572, review 574, andsource 576. The item 572 includes those items from the item list 502that reviews have been submitted (e.g., via “click here”) by a member(e.g., source 576) of the community group 400. In one embodiment, a linkis given to a file or location of the review left by a member. Inanother embodiment, a link is be given to a location of an outsidesource of reviews for the listed item under item 572. For example, thelocation may be a uniform resource location (URL) of an Internet websitefor providing reviews of that item. In one embodiment, the activation ofthe link also includes the opening of a browser program and an insertionof the text pertaining to the item under item 572 such that a searchfield for review site is automatically filled and submitted.

FIG. 5E illustrates an example embodiment of an electronic shopping cartdisplay 580 presenting items that have been put into the electronicshopping cart by one or more members of the community group 400. Theelectronic shopping cart display 580 includes sections or fieldspertaining to a specific item 582 (as described above), a description584, a quantity 585, a threshold value such as a max price 586, a searchbutton 588, and a bulk purchase button 590. The item list creator mayalso create rules for how a electronic shopping cart is configured. Forexample, a member may not be able to purchase an item until all or apredetermined amount of items from the item list 402 have been put intothe electronic shopping cart. The item list creator or another member(if granted sufficient access) may create a rule to put a limit on aprice or quantity for a given item. This may be particularly relevant ifthe item list creator has given one or all of the members of thecommunity group the power to purchase from the item list creator'spayment and blue account (e.g., a PayPal® account). For example, a limitor threshold value of 5,000 USD (United States Dollars) has beenestablished for the Sony SN2345P plasma television, as indicated undermax price 586. In one embodiment, the quantity (e.g., quantity 585) maybe an input field editable by a member of the community group but theunderlying program may automatically limit the quantity amount accordingto a rule created by the item list creator.

The search button 588 may call upon another application (e.g.,navigation applications 206) within the network-based system 112 toperform a vendor search for each item in the electronic shopping cartdisplay 580. In various embodiments, the results returned (not shown)may include any combination of or all of a list of vendors (e.g., brickand mortar or e-commerce vendors), prices, bids (e.g., auction sitebids), availability, shipping options, comparison charts, etc. Thereturns may also be limited by rules created by at least one of the itemlist creator or one or more members of the community group accessing theshared electronic shopping cart. For example, vendors returning priceshigher than those listed under max price 586 may be ignored or displayedin a different context (e.g., color, font, separate page, etc.). Once alist has been returned to a user, the user may then have the option topurchase all or part of the items returned on the vendor list.

The bulk purchase button 590 may call upon one or more applicationsassociated with the search button 588 functionality to locate all orpart of the items found in electronic shopping cart display 580 that fita particular criteria or rule created by the item list creator or memberof the community group 400. For example, a first criteria or rule may beused to create a display that includes only those vendors with thelowest price. A second criteria or rule may be lowest price asdetermined by the combination of item price and shipping cost. Afterlocating the items matching the criteria and/or rules, the items areautomatically purchased. Although there may be a multitude of underlyingtransactions in purchasing the items from the one or more vendors, to auser it appears as a single purchase based on using the bulk purchasebutton 590. In various embodiments, automatic reports may be generateddisplaying what was purchased, from where, how much, and if applicable,what was not purchased. For example, some items may have fallen outsideof the predefined criteria and were not purchased.

Although shown with example fields and functions, it can be appreciatedthe displays and interfaces associated with item list 502, communitygroup 530, recommendations 530, and reviews summary 570 may beimplemented in a wide variety of methods and programmatic languagesknown in the art and should not be construed in a limiting sense.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D illustrate example embodiments of functionalmodules pertaining to some of the applications of FIG. 2. It will beappreciated that the applications and associated modules may be executedwithin any portion of the network system 100, (e.g., the client machine118 and the network-based marketplace 112). FIG. 6A illustrates therules applications 208 and the roles applications 209 and the socialnetworking applications 210, which includes a community group module 602and a rules and roles module 604. In one embodiment, the community groupmodule 602 is utilized by the user 402 (e.g., item list generator) tocreate the community group 400. The community group 400, as discussedabove, may include members that are direct relationships and membersthat are indirect relationships. Once created, all or part of thecommunity group 400 may have access to or be recipients of the item list502 to create a shared shopping experience. Once the community group 400is created, the community group module 602 may then store the createdcommunity group 400 into the database 136, and more specifically thecommunity group table 316 for access by other applications and moduleswithin the network system 100. Examples of members within a communitygroup created by the user 402 (item list generator) and their associatedattributes are discussed above with reference to FIG. 5B.

The rules and roles module 604 may be used by its associated applicationto provide an interface to the user 402 to allow the creation of rulespertaining to the items and members of the community group 400 and allowthe assignment of roles to members of the community group 400. Examplesof rules and roles were discussed above.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of an itemlist generation module 606 which may be utilized by the item listapplications 216. In one embodiment, the item list generation module 606may provide the user 402 with a user interface, including displays andfunctions for inputting items (e.g., products, services, broadcategories, etc.) into an item list (e.g., item list 502). Examples ofitems in an item list and their associated attributes are discussedabove with reference to FIG. 5A. The item list generation module 606 mayalso facilitate the storage of the item list 502 into the database 136,and more specifically the item list table 306 for access by otherapplications and modules within the network system 100.

FIG. 6C is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of asearch module 608 and a transaction module 610 which may be utilized bythe electronic shopping cart applications 218. In one embodiment, thesearch module 608 may provide the user 402 with a user interface,including displays and functions for searching for vendors to purchaseitems (e.g., products, services, broad categories, etc.) from an itemlist (e.g., item list 502) and displays and functions for returning anddisplaying data associated with those searches. The transaction module610 may provide the user 402 with a user interface, including displaysand functions for purchasing specific items associated with the itemlist 502 and associated with the search results. In various embodiments,the electronic shopping cart applications 218 and associated modules mayalso be linked to other payment applications and modules (not shown)associated with the network system 100 to further facilitate thepurchasing of items. Examples of items in an electronic shopping cartand their associated attributes are discussed above with reference toFIG. 5E.

FIG. 6D is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a userinput module 612 which may be utilized by the review and recommendationapplications 205. In one embodiment, the user input module 612 mayprovide the user 402 with a user interface, including displays andfunctions for reviewing items (e.g., products, services, broadcategories, etc.) associated with an item list (e.g., item list 502)and, when appropriate (e.g., a non-specific item), for facilitating theinput of recommendations for specific items to be added to the item list502. Examples of reviews and recommendations are discussed above withreference to FIGS. 5C and 5D.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method700 for creating an item list (e.g., item list 502) that may be sharedamong a community group (e.g., community group 400). At operation 702,item data corresponding to an item list (e.g., item list 502) isreceived from a user, wherein the item list includes one or more items(e.g., products, services, broad categories, etc.). Next, at operation704, the item list is communicated to a community group (e.g., communitygroup 400) associated with the user (e.g., user 402, item list creator).At operation 706, member data is received from one or more members(e.g., “mother” 404) of the community group. The member data may beassociated with the one or more items on the item list. For example,member data may be a review of a specific item (e.g., specific make andmodel of a product) or a recommendation for a specific item associatedwith a broad category of item (e.g., anniversary gift or portable musicplayer). In another embodiment, member data may be data associated withpurchasing an item from the item list, adding a specific item to ashared electronic shopping cart, purchasing an item, etc.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method800 for creating an item list (e.g., item list 502) that may be sharedamong a community group (e.g., community group 400). At operation 802, auser (e.g., user 402, item list creator) logs in and enters a communitygroup or creates a new community group. The user decides, at operation804, whether or not to create an item list (e.g., a community shoppinglist). If no, the method 800 terminates. If yes, a determination is madeat operation 806, if the user has authority (based on role, etc.) tocreate the item list. At operation 808, the user creates and names theitem list. At operation 810, determine if the user wants to add an itemto the item list. If no, quit, if yes determine, at operation 812, ifthe user has authority to add the item to the item list. If yes, then atoperation 814, the user may add the item and any associated descriptionto the item list.

At operation 816, the user may create rules and roles for items andmembers of the community group, respectively. For example, a rule may becreated to hide or make invisible certain items on the list (such as thenewly created item) to certain members of the community group. In oneembodiment, a role of reviewer may be assigned to a particular member ofthe group thereby limiting or creating additional access by that member,as appropriate or defined. For example, a reviewer may have visibilityto all items of the item list for review purposes, but may not havepermissions to add additional items to the list.

If a user does not want to create an item list at operation 804, then itis determined at operation 818 if the user wants to edit an existingitem list. If no, the method 800 terminates. If yes, determination ismade at operation 820, if the user is authorized to do so. If yes, theuser edits the item list at operation 822, if no the method 800terminates. In one embodiment, the level of editing may depend on therole associated with the user wishing to make the edits or with rulesassociated with one or more of the items of the item list.

FIG. 9 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of machine in theexample form of a computer system 900 within which a set of instructionsmay be executed to cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein. In alternative embodiments, the machineoperates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate inthe capacity of a server or a client machine in server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may be a server computer, a clientcomputer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance,a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executinga set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 900 includes a processor 902 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both),a main memory 904 and a static memory 906, which communicate with eachother via a bus 908. The computer system 900 may further include a videodisplay unit 910 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode raytube (CRT)). The computer system 900 also includes an alphanumeric inputdevice 912 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 914 (e.g., amouse), a storage unit 916 (e.g., hard-disk drive), a signal generationdevice 918 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device 920.

The storage unit 916 includes a machine-readable medium 922 on which isstored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 924) embodyingany one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Thesoftware 924 may also reside, completely or at least partially, withinthe main memory 904 and/or within the processor 902 during executionthereof by the computer system 900, the main memory 904 and theprocessor 902 also constituting machine-readable media. The software 924may further be transmitted or received over a network 926 via thenetwork interface device 920.

While the machine-readable medium 922 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described withreference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident thatvarious modifications and changes may be made to these embodimentswithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

1. A method comprising: receiving from a user, item data correspondingto an item list including one or more items, at least one of the itemsbeing a category of product, a category of service, an occasionassociated with the user, or a person associated with the user;communicating the item list, using one or more processors, to acommunity group associated with the user; receiving member data from oneor more members of the community group, the member data being associatedwith one or more items on the item list, the member data comprising areview or a recommendation of an item of the one or more items includedin the item list; and updating the item list based on the receivedmember data.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating thecommunity group based on receiving, from the user, member identificationdata, the member identification data being based on a selection of oneor more groups defined by the user.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe member identification data corresponds to at least one of one ormore other users and one or more other community groups.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the one or more items include a product or aservice, at least one of the items included in the item list being thecategory of product, the category of service, the occasion associatedwith the user, or the person associated with the user.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the receiving of the member data includes receivingmember data corresponding to a review of the one or more items of theitem list.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the memberdata includes receiving member data corresponding to a recommendation ofa specific product or service associated with the one or more items ofthe item list.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the receiving of themember data includes receiving a request to add the product or theservice to an electronic shopping cart.
 8. The method of claim 4,further including creating an electronic shopping cart indicating thatthe product of the service from the item list has been selected forpurchase, wherein the electronic shopping cart is accessible by eachmember of the community group.
 9. The method of claim 8, furtherincluding: performing an automatic search of online vendors item theproduct or the service indicated in the electronic shopping cart;automatically selecting one or more vendors having item the product orthe service based on one or more thresholds associated with the purchaseof the product or the service; and automatically purchasing the productor the service available from the one or more vendors based on a singleinput received from one of the user and a member of the one or moremembers of the community group.
 10. The method of claim 1, furtherincluding creating one or more rules associated with at least one of theitems of the item list and one or more members of the community group.11. The method of claim 10, further including preventing one or moreselected members from viewing one or more of the items by setting avisibility attribute associated with the one or more items to invisiblefor the selected members.
 12. The method of claim 1, further includingcreating one or more roles associated with at least one or more membersof the community group.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the one ormore roles determines a level of accessibility to attributes andfunctions of the item list.
 14. A system comprising: an item list moduleto receive item data from a user, the item data corresponding to an itemlist including one or more items, at least one of the items being acategory of product, a category of service, an occasion associated withthe user, or a person associated with the user; a community groupmodule, having one or more processors, to communicate the item list to acommunity group associated with the user; and user input module toreceive member data from one or more members of the community group, themember data being associated with one or more items on the item list,the member data comprising a review or a recommendation of an item ofthe one or more items included in the item list, the user input modulefurther to update the item list based on the received member data. 15.The system of claim 14, wherein the receiving of the member dataincludes receiving a request to add an item to an electronic shoppingcart.
 16. The system of claim 14, further including a transaction moduleto create an electronic shopping cart to indicate which of the itemsfrom the item list have been selected for purchase by one or moremembers of the community group.
 17. The system of claim 16, furtherincluding: a search module to: perform an automatic search of onlinevendors for each item indicated in the electronic shopping cart; andselect one or more vendors that indicate saleable inventory for eachitem based on one or more thresholds associated with the purchase ofeach item; and the transaction module to automatically purchase eachitem available from the one or more vendors based on a single inputreceived from one of the user and a member of the community group. 18.The system of claim 17, further including a rules and roles module tocreate one or more rules associated with at least one of the items ofthe item list and one or more members of the community group.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein the rules and roles module is to set avisibility attribute associated with one or more items to invisible forthe selected members to prevent the one or more selected members fromviewing one or more of the items.
 20. The system of claim 14, furtherincluding a rules and roles module to create one or more rolesassociated with at least one or more members of the community group. 21.The system of claim 20, including the rules and roles module todetermine a level of accessibility to attributes and functions of theitem list based on the one or more created roles.
 22. The system ofclaim 14, further including the community group module to receive memberidentification data from the user and to create a community group basedon the received member identification data.
 23. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed bya machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising: receivingfrom a user, item data corresponding to an item list including one ormore items, at least one of the items being a category of product, acategory of service, an occasion associated with the user, or a personassociated with the user; communicating the item list to a communitygroup associated with the user; receiving member data from one or moremembers of the community group, the member data being associated withone or more items on the item list, the member data comprising a reviewor a recommendation of an item of the one or more items included in theitem list; and updating the item list based on the received member data.24. The machine readable medium of claim 23, further includinginstructions, which when executed by a machine, cause the machinefurther: perform an automatic search of online vendors for each itemindicated in the electronic shopping cart; select one or more vendorshaving each item based on one or more thresholds associated with thepurchase of each item; and automatically purchase each item availablefrom the one or more vendors based on a single click from one of theuser and a member of the community group.